All the while, local support had eroded to the point where the awards dinner was canceled last December and the head of the Pittsburg Citizens Football Committee resigned. Pittsburg's proud football tradition, which produced such stars as Hall of Famer John Henry Johnson and current Tampa Buccaneer Regan Upshaw, had reached its nadir.

Or so Cockerham hoped.

"People in Pittsburg love their football as much as those small towns in Texas, but they were angry and disillusioned," Cockerham said. "That's why, when we held the barbecue to try to bridge the community with my ball club, all our kids wore ties. Many people came up to me and said they had never seen that in Pittsburg."

About the only thing upon which all concerned in the Pittsburg mess can agree was that it was a good first step back toward respectability and, maybe, an inkling that the glory days might someday return.

"That was a good gesture, but most of the community is still sitting back waiting to see what'll happen next," says Frank Aiello, a retired Pittsburg teacher who coached the football team in the mid-70s. "People are cautious, and a lot are still angry. They feel part of their life has been taken from them."

TOWN TIED TO FOOTBALL

Life and football sometimes is barely distinguishable in this delta town that, until the recent housing boom, had not changed much in decades.

"The whole identity of that town and the school is tied up with football and, to me, that's just sad," said Rosalyn Morgan-Upshaw, who is not only one of the former principals who resigned in 1997, but also mother of the Tampa lineman.

"When things go wrong and the team doesn't win, they take it personally. It's not that way at other places I've been," said Morgan-Upshaw, who is now principal at Kennedy High School in Richmond.

Friday nights in Pittsburg meant swaddling the kids in a blanket and rooting for the Pirates against rivals such as Antioch and De La Salle. It meant showing blind loyalty to the black and orange.

But the firing of popular coach Herc Pardi after a scandal-plagued 1995 season that included the hazing allegations and thefts chipped away at that loyalty. Last year's firing of Pardi's successor, Thomas Whiting, on sexual harassment charges, combined with the Pirates' 5-6-1 record to undermine the foundation of support.

In stepped Cockerham to sift through the rubble and rebuild. He comes with impeccable credentials. He was an assistant coach at UC Berkeley for five years under Bruce Snyder and Keith Gilbertson. Last year, he was an assistant at St. Mary's. Perhaps more important, he has been a teacher at Pittsburg High for three years and knows firsthand about the divisive events that tore apart the program.

Seemingly every other word Cockerham utters either is "discipline" or "accountability." Practice schedules are followed to the second. There is no wasted time. Nor is there room for attitude.

"It's a big difference under coach Cockerham," senior quarterback J. Paul Flores said. "Everybody's pulling together. Every year, (Pittsburg) has the talent to compete with De La Salle and beat them. But we've just been too much of individuals. Things are different this year."

WAIT-AND-SEE ATTITUDE

Longtime Pittsburg supporters are wary.

"I haven't gone to any games in two years," said George Harris, booster club president for 20 years before resigning in 1996. "I want to wait and see before I give my loyalty back to Pittsburg football. My son played ball there. My daughter was a cheerleader since she was a little baby, for Christ's sake, wearing a tiny cheerleader outfit on the sidelines. But what happened these last two years was just terrible."

It took a lot of coaxing just to get Cockerham to apply for the job. He had never coached high school football and hoped to land another job as an assistant at UCLA or USC. "Initially, I just didn't want to get involved because there was just so much turmoil," Cockerham said. "Certain people appealed to me from a humanitarian point of view to help these kids and help the town.

"The thing I kept hearing, over and over, was that the kids at Pittsburg were getting out of control. It didn't start with Whiting. It's the attitude, how hard they play, how they looked and dressed -- all were deteriorating. I've chosen to go back to the old school and be on them about everything."

Hence the well-groomed look at the alumni picnic. Cockerham's gesture did not go unnoticed. The consensus is that, if anyone can restore Pittsburg's reputation as a positive football town, it's Cockerham.

"He's a terrific man," Morgan- Upshaw said.

"Billy will turn it around," said Pardi.

But many still say that victories, not time, will heal all wounds. If the Pirates' record improves and they perhaps even knock off De La Salle, the bitterness finally will fade.

Cockerham, for one, is optimistic. "There is talent here better than anyplace, even that place across the hill (De La Salle)," he said. "The biggest reason De La Salle is No. 1 is attitude. Their talent is no better than ours. If we get that attitude and discipline, watch out. People'll be talking again about Pittsburg."